A people's art history of the United States : 250 years of activist art and artists working in social justice movements, Nicolas Lampert

"Most people outside of the art world view art as something that is foreign to their experiences and everyday lives. A People's Art History of the United States places art history squarely in the rough-and-tumble of politics, social struggles, and the fight for justice from the colonial era through the present day. Author and radical artist Nicolas Lampert combines historical sweep with detailed examinations of individual artists and works in a politically charged narrative that spans the conquest of the Americas, the American Revolution, slavery and abolition, western expansion, the suffragette movement and feminism, civil rights movements, environmental movements, LGBT movements, antiglobalization movements, contemporary antiwar movements, and beyond. A People's Art History of the United States introduces us to key works of American radical art alongside dramatic retellings of the histories that inspired them. Stylishly illustrated with over two hundred images, this book is nothing less than an alternative education for anyone interested in the powerful role that art plays in our society."--Publisher information

"Most people outside of the art world view art as something that is foreign to their experiences and everyday lives. A People's Art History of the United States places art history squarely in the rough-and-tumble of politics, social struggles, and the fight for justice from the colonial era through the present day. Author and radical artist Nicolas Lampert combines historical sweep with detailed examinations of individual artists and works in a politically charged narrative that spans the conquest of the Americas, the American Revolution, slavery and abolition, western expansion, the suffragette movement and feminism, civil rights movements, environmental movements, LGBT movements, antiglobalization movements, contemporary antiwar movements, and beyond. A People's Art History of the United States introduces us to key works of American radical art alongside dramatic retellings of the histories that inspired them. Stylishly illustrated with over two hundred images, this book is nothing less than an alternative education for anyone interested in the powerful role that art plays in our society."--Publisher information

Parallel paths on the same river -- Visualizing a partial revolution -- Liberation graphics -- Abolitionism as autonomy, activism, and entertainment -- The battleground over public memory -- Photographing the past during the present -- Jacob A. Riis's image problem -- Haymarket : an embattled history of static monuments and public interventions -- Blurring the boundaries between art and life -- "The Masses" on trial -- Banners designed to break a president -- The lynching crisis -- Become the media, circa 1930 -- Government-funded art : the boom and bust years for public art -- Artists organize -- Artists against war and Fascism -- Resistance or loyalty : the visual politics of Miné Okubo -- Come let us build a new world together -- Party artist : Emory Douglas and the Black Panther Party -- Protesting the museum industrial complex -- "The Living, breathing embodiment of a culture transformed" -- Public rituals, media performances, and citywide interventions -- No apologies : Asco, performance art, and the Chicano civil rights movement -- Art is not enough -- Antinuclear street art -- Living water : sustainability through collaboration -- Art defends art -- Bringing the war home -- Impersonating utopia and dystopia